Italy, a country whose laws currently prohibit the private ownership and free trade of antiquities, may be on the verge of a dramatic shift in policy. Italy's draconian approach to private ownership has been seen largely as a failure as many private collections exist but are simply out of sight to scholars and others students of art history.
This winds of change may be blowing. Following the well-documented success of the UK's treaure trove laws, two amendments attached to next year's budget currently being debated in Italian parliament would allow citizens to declare any antiquties in their possession provided they pay a state tax equal to 5 per cent of an object's estimated market value. The amendments have been proposed by members of Silvio Berlusconi's Forza Italia party and are seen as having a reasonable chance of surviving into law. Supporters of the new laws maintain that it will bring to light great treasures that can be properly recorded and studied after being kept in the dark -- literally and figuratively -- for years and maybe generations. Bravo Italia!!
Comments